


Desire of the heart

by ByzantiumWithChampagne



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Magic Mirrors, Mentions of Suicide, One-Sided Attraction, One-sided Katara/Zuko, POV Katara (Avatar), Unrequited Love, Zutara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 03:35:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15765777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByzantiumWithChampagne/pseuds/ByzantiumWithChampagne
Summary: It didn’t matter how many times she was coming back there; the vision was always the same.





	Desire of the heart

**Author's Note:**

> I always thought that Aang wasn't the best match for Katara due to many differences between them. I wanted to write an alternative vision of her story. Hope you'll like it!
> 
>  
> 
> (I do not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender")

The palace was very quiet in the night; or so thought Katara who stood in her room and listened carefully with her ear next to door. She waited few more minutes and opened them slowly. Sliding through the small gap she was really grateful for her slender figure because without it everything would be ten times harder than already was.

Walking through the corridor young woman stayed in the shadows, her footsteps inaudible. Suddenly she tensed — she thought that she heard something. Katara decided to hide behind one of the sculptures in the niches, just in case. When a bored guardian walked past her hideaway, she held her breath. She waited until the light of his torch disappeared and left. Young woman sighed in the dark and thanked the spirits for her reflexes. She also prayed wordlessly to Tui and Lua behind which she realized she hid, and continued her walk. Soon she turned left, into the dusted narrow hallway and took from the wall one of the magically burning torches.

When she found the marble sculpture of a Painted Lady, Katara touched the wall, and managed to hurt herself on rough bricks before founding the hidden mechanism. Irritated young woman pushed firmly and then the wall moved to reveal a secret way. After checking last time if she’s alone, she entered the dark corridor. Magic fire was her only light when she was coming down the stairs.

After a few minutes of walking, Katara finally went into a huge cave which was overgrown with leafy vegetation. The place was well floodlit thanks to the cracks in the fornix. Silver moonlight was lighting the space now, and she clearly could see her destination — in the middle of the cave was a small flowery island encircled by a crystal clear stream where stood a beautiful mirror. Its frame was made from branches of trees which were growing around. They were entwined into a delicate blend of flowers which created shaped of animals and symbols of spirits. The unique pattern always took Katara’s breath no matter how many times she was there already.

It wasn’t an ordinary mirror and waterbender knew that perfectly — its silver sheet showed people their deepest desires. She could feel the power surrounding her when she crossed the stream and sat in front of the mirror. Young woman closed her eyes and cleaner her mind, finally relaxing after a hard day. When she felt that she’s ready, she opened the eyes and looked into the glass.

Even when she was leaving her room, Katara already knew what she was going to see in it. It didn’t matter how many times she was coming back here; the vision was always the same. When she saw it for the first time, she was shocked and almost felt betrayed by her own heart. But in the same time she knew that she’s lying to herself that she’s happy — she wasn’t. Her dream in the mirror could give her real happiness, but Katara knew that it wasn’t possible to happen. Therefore, day by day she was filling perfectly all her duties and pretended that she’s deeply in love in the Avatar Aang. In the nighttime she was coming to the cave and stared at the future she wanted to have but couldn’t.

Katara in the mirror was older by few years and truly beautiful; she had that glow which posses every loved woman. Her long white robe was decorated with crimson ribbons, and showed her curvy silhouette perfectly. Lacy wrap was covering her shoulders and pooled around her knees. Long and thick brown hair were falling gently on her chest and curled at the ends from the heat her body still wasn’t used to. On her neck was situated elaborately cut shiny ruby enchased with gold which hung on the scarlet silk ribbon.

He was sitting behind her and tried to entwine ribbons with single strands of her hair. Most of his own straight black hair was pinned into a bun at the top of his head, and the rest of them were falling freely around his handsome face and down to the broad chest. This time he didn’t have a scar — sometimes he has and sometimes he hasn’t; Katara didn’t know from what it depended. His clothes were changing too — now he as wearing a deep red vesture adorned with golden thread. She knew what it was — an official representative robes of the Fire Lord. She loved the way his pale skin contrasted with her dark complexion, and how much love she saw in his golden eyes.

This vision was breaking her heart, but she was still staring at it wistfully. She wondered what he was doing right now; probably working or drinking tea with his wife, Mai. Katara sighed heavily and reached towards the reflection barely consciously — her mirror self repeated the gesture, and when their fingers touched vision started to absorb her inside. That forbidden desire was hared to resist after such a difficult day and Katara let her arm dip slightly deeper. The King in the mirror smiled gently and hid his face in mirror-Katara’s hair. It was always hard to pull away, and this time too she felt a hint of regret when she did that. One day she’ll let it absorb her completely, she promises herself. For now, she just got up with a sight and approached the stream. She didn’t know where its source was, but water was certainly magical; drinking it increased her actual abilities and even got her a few new ones — she could create water from air now for example.

After her routine portion of the fluid, Katara decided to come back to her room. Moonlight started to fade and sunrise was close, she could feel it. Walking through the corridor young bender wondered what would happen if people around her knew about her actual power. All of them thought that she can control her element weakly, and her knowledge about healing is basic. Not many of them knew about bloodbending, but they belittled it anyway due to fact that they never saw her using it. But maybe if they knew they wouldn’t force her to marry Aang and be a perfect housewife? Long time ago it was one fo her dreams which changed into a nightmare. So maybe if she tells them, they’ll give her more freedom? Silly, Katara thought after this though formed in her head. If they knew they would probably kill her in case she would be a threat for them. They were worse than most of the criminals she ever meet. Sometimes she couldn’t understand why exactly Aang is keeping them so close.

Katara entered her room as quietly as she left. The view of her chamber hit her hard. It was so empty here, silence almost scaring her. This place was so boring; there was only small bed, desk under the tall window and two drawers filled with clothes she practically never wears. It was all gray and made her feel nausea. It felt like a prison cell rather than Avatar’s future wife bedroom.

Young woman sighed and approached her bed to go to sleep when she spotted a paper on her desk. She slowly took it into her hands and read; she didn’t even felt the tears on her face. It was a really beautiful invitation, she had to admit. Katara shook her head — hey invited “the Avatar with a partner”; her name wasn’t even mentioned even though it was a common fact that she was his fiancé. What a mockery, she thought with a sigh. However, it was the later part which made her cry — they were invited for celebration of birth of the first son of the Fire Lord.

She went to her bed and wiped off her tears, took a deep breath. It wasn’t their fault; they didn’t know about her feelings, or rather her problems as she preferred to think about it. It didn’t matter. She’ll endure it all anyway because she promised herself that one day she’ll be happy. One day she’ll show them all what she’s capable of, and when she’ll finish with them she’ll enter the world in the mirror. There she’ll be finally happy.


End file.
